What to expect when the power grid goes down.

[bigpaul]

ignore the reference to India, read the rest http://survivalblog.org/grid-down-india

[Straight Shooter]

I am glad to be working on my house security right now, but looking at this article strengthens my resolve for the last part of my plan , and the most crucial ....all will become clear on the completion of all works.

[Scythe13]

Interesting.

I agree with the sequence, but for the UK, because we're a smaller more densely populated area, I think our series of events will play out faster.

[Straight Shooter]

I agree with you on that S13

[Mortblanc]

How is the grid going down in New Orleans, USA different than the grid going down in Manchester, England?

We are speaking of cities very similar in size, population and function. I think that in this case a city, is a city, is a city.

The U.S has less population density due to the space between the cities, not the reduced size of the population in the cities.

Almost 1/3 (100,000,000) of our population resides in the east coast megalopolis. Another 1/4 (90,000,000) reside in the State of California. That means that more than 2/3 the U.S. population resides within 90 miles of the east, west or Gulf of Mexico coasts. The remaining 1/3 are left to fill the 3,000 miles between oceans.

From my observation, I believe the differences in outcome will be due to the nature of the people in the crisis areas. The variations in response and reaction due to cultural background.

[Scythe13]

Hi MB

A fair point raised.

One thing I'd like to note, although I may be wrong. Many of the UK cities are very densely packed, even when compared to the US. New York probably has the highest population density on earth, so that skews the results. For me, I see the UK as a smaller area, higher density, which suggests things will travel quicker around the cities in the UK than in the US. Not that we're more efficient at communication. Just because we're a MUCH smaller area.

Wikipedia says:

New Orleans, population density is 1965 per square mile.
Manchester city has a pop density of over 5000 per square mile. Even the county of Greater Manchester has a density over that or New Orleans (but not by much).

Much of the UK cities is covered with highrise towers for people to live in. Our cities are MUVH smaller, area wise, than the US cities. With the increased density it makes me think things will happen at a faster rate.

I agree about what you said about culture too. The UK hasone of the highest violent crime rates in Europe. We have more violent crime, per capita, in the UK than you get in America. Also, with a conviction rate of around 5% for those crimes, the incentives to stop are very low.

[bigpaul]

yeah but I reckon the British will take longer to react to the situation and will wait for the govt to fix everything, it will take them a long time to realise it ISNT going to be fixed anytime soon and the power ISNT coming back on, then and only then will they "kick off".

[Scythe13]

(31 May 2013, 09:23)bigpaul Wrote: yeah but I reckon the British will take longer to react to the situation and will wait for the govt to fix everything, it will take them a long time to realise it ISNT going to be fixed anytime soon and the power ISNT coming back on, then and only then will they "kick off".

I respectfully disagree. There are certain parts of society kicking off right now, and we still have power. Once the power stops, then things will get much worse. Think about it, no comms for people to call the police, no street lights, no house alarms, no CCTV, no concern about being caught. I believe, completely, that if that happens in the UK, we'll have huge riots super fast!

[bigpaul]

yeah, in the city ghettos... not where you and I live....certainly not here, we don't have the chavs and low lifes!!

[Jonas]

(30 May 2013, 23:56)Scythe13 Wrote: Wikipedia says:

New Orleans, population density is 1965 per square mile.
Manchester city has a pop density of over 5000 per square mile. Even the county of Greater Manchester has a density over that or New Orleans (but not by much)...

Which would indicate to me that Manchester would be a good place to avoid. Folks living there should have their "bug-out plans" on a hair trigger.

New Orleans reverted back to a "stone age" society within 24 hours after Hurricane Katrina and the breeching of the levees. Even a majority of the local law enforcement officers went rogue. While people were starving and dying of dehydration at the "Convention Center", literally thousands of school buses, which could have evacuated a good number of people, were left to rust in their flooded parking lots.

Meanwhile, the mayor did nothing, and the governor dilly-dallied on declaring a state of emergency, which was needed for the federal government to send help, despite pleas from Washington to do so!

I pretty much expect the people in every large city hit by a disaster to react the same way.